Another great issue from the Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine collective, this time edited by Lucy Zinklewicz with an editorial stating that all of the 19 short stories were selected from the slush pile which is good news for aspiring writers out there sickened by rejection slips from unread manuscripts sent to many other magazines. A good meaty selection with plenty to get your teeth into, some with flavours of Hans Christian Andersen, others featuring witches, vampires and demons, not forgetting the obligatory zombie, of course, and carnivorous vegetarians, which will satisfy the appetite of any fiction devourer out there in the universe!

With insufficient space to comment on all stories, here is a selection of some of them, not necessarily the best but it will give you an idea of the contents. Starting off was ‘Mirror Mirror’ by Ethan Fode which tells the tale of a middle-aged woman charmed by the image of a prince appearing in a mirror procured from a junk shop. Flattering though she was, she soon sussed out that he was a daemon ready to wreck havoc once released from the glass. Trouble was, though she was astute, her hapless husband wasn’t and horror was soon to emerge.

Crystal Lynn Hilbert’s ‘The Minutiae Of Being Dead’ took us to vampires and a lot of weird people. A quirky tale based on the fact that you just can’t kill a vampire! Or so it seems! Cassie Beasley’s ‘Rites Of’ Passage tells a story about a vegetarian in a world where the carnivore is revered. This is where the carnivorous vegetarian appears!

‘Schrödinger’ by Voss Foster, a clever and enticing story, related to the famous cat in a state of flux between life and death. A young woman student discovers something startling about a book which to all intents and purposes has nothing on the pages. Yet with training, words appear. Prophetic words at that! This later takes her on a dangerous path which will be lifelong and ruinous.

The cover depicts the story, ‘The Washerwoman And The Troll’ by Julian Mortimer Smith. The title also explains the story. The washerwoman was a nuisance to the trolls and they tried to get rid of her by any method available. Aged and in severe difficulty, she managed to persevere until something happened. A very good story!

As normal with ASIM, which is a word not normally associated with this magazine, a quirky sense of humour saturates the pages. Once you get used to this, you will be aptly rewarded. A great deal of work by a lot of people has been devoted to making the venture a success and with 57 issues now recorded, it has become soundly established worldwide. Of the 19 authors, a good geographical distribution gives you stories from Australia, USA, UK and others making it truly international.